Education, Education, Education!

Posted on 24 Jul 2003 at 12:30

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To most kids, computers mean games. As a parent, though, there are plenty of more constructive reasons to buy a computer for your young ones. Even a basic PC can help them get ahead at school.

From the time they're in the pram to their first pair of Nikes, children become increasingly demanding. But what do you do if your kids put on pressure to buy a PC? Suddenly, the sums of money involved are huge. Not only that, but you'll have the worry of letting your little ones loose on the internet. And there are plenty of nagging questions. Is a PC good for my child? How much time should they be spending on it? Should I let them play games? After all, nobody wants their child to become a hyper-developed PC whiz, only to be uncomfortable with human company.

If you find yourself in this dilemma, then this feature is for you. We'll start by looking at the sort of PC you'll want to buy for your kids' educational needs - and how much you should be prepared to pay for it. We'll then go on to look at other learning aids for the PC, and take a look at the educational resources available on the Internet.

What kind of PC should I buy?
Before deciding what you should buy, let's assess what you're actually going to use your PC for. The key to this is the age of the child - there's no point buying a £1,500 super-PC with surround sound, and a DVD player for the sole use of a three year old.

We wouldn't advise plonking an infant in front of a monitor screen for long periods of time, but having a PC around can be a handy way to ease your child into pre-school learning. For children up to the age of four or five, a basic Pentium-based PC with a CD-ROM, stereo speakers and a good monitor is all you'll really need.

The good news is, when your child is of an age where they actually need a PC, you still needn't spend the earth. The maximum you need spend is £699 excluding VAT. And, as we saw in last month's Lab Test, you can get a great PC for under seven hundred quid.

Author: Martin Cooper